Tag Archives: laid off

Another person just told me they think they will be laid off, they aren’t sure. Some layoffs and firings you just can’t avoid. One smart guy said,

Getting fired is nature’s way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place. (Lancaster)

Are you going to be laid off?

There are always hints that you are going to be laid off. They are obvious after the fact.

True stories:

Susan is going to be fired. She appears to be clueless. She is a great person but is not getting the job done. She’s in a genteel company where people are expected to take hints. She has not taken the hints. She has been all but told to find a new job. She refuses to accept that. We’ve even read the tea leaves for her after her boss asked us to help get her out of the company. She refuses to accept it. Susan is going to be fired for not being above average. It just makes no sense to her.

My old friend Larry was at a major computer company. Every year his reviews were stellar. Then one year his review changed from “superior” to “needs improvement”. Larry asked, “Is this a hint?” The reply was, “It is what it is. You’ll need to figure that out.” Two weeks later Larry had a new job with a 25% pay raise. He’s still at that new company and still getting superior performance appraisals. Larry was being pushed out because his salary was too high, even though he was worth every penny of it.

The two main reasons for firing or laying off people are that they are not good enough, or they are too expensive. For either problem, some of the signs are the same, such as:

Pay raises less than the rate of inflation – particularly NO raise

A job review with average or lower ratings

Reduction in responsibilities or some of your duties given to others

Being on probation (some people actually miss this one!)

You are asked to relocate to a place you won’t go

Your company, division or location is losing money

A competitor just won a big contract you should have won

A new boss promises to “revitalize” your group, division or company

If you are wondering about your own situation, take the bull by the horns. Ask your boss two questions:

Are there going to be layoffs?

Should I start looking for a new job?

If you have the guts to ask, he just might tell you the truth. It’s better to know for sure if your boss will tell you. If your boss lies, you’ll still get a feeling for the truth. Find out. It’s better to look for a job while you are still employed rather than when you are jobless.

Do you have even one of the 8 signs in your job? Go talk to your boss. Do you have three or more of the symptoms? Look for a job no matter what the boss says.

Okay, Goliath tried to kill David. But it was how David reacted to Goliath that made him famous.

How horribly bad stuff can eventually help you have a great job

Some people claim that the best thing that happened to President George W. Bush, was that terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center towers. There is even an apocryphal account of Bill Clinton saying, “If only that attack had happened on my watch, then I would have been a great president.”

How about these:

Not getting a job you really want.

Someone else getting the promotion you worked for.

Being laid off.

A terrible job performance review.

A letter of reprimand in your file.

Disasters? Yes. Setbacks? Yes.

Setbacks make me think of the two richest families in our neighborhood when I was a kid. One ran a gas station. The other was a plumber. They couldn’t get great jobs, so they took opportunities no one else wanted. The gas station manager now owns 10 car dealerships. The plumber started his own company and employed a host of people. They took stock of their situation and decided to move forward.

Evaluate why you really suffered a setback. Ask the easy questions and the hard questions. What did they do to me? What did I do to me? Where can I go from here?

One of the oldest books on the subject of success is Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. Every other book on the subject just steals his material and puts it in different words. His book can help you gain perspective and focus on what you can do.

Are you dealing with a Goliath? Then make sure you DECIDE how to react.

Today is always the time to start your future. Yesterday is past. Today you can make tomorrow a little better. Focus on what really caused your current situation. Then go forward with a plan. The world will change around you.

Something To Do Today

Get a copy of Think and Grow Rich and read through it. It’s a classic.

First, be nice. No bridge burning. No yelling. Your boss may have been ordered to fire you and is being fired in another week. You may end up working for him at his new job. Your future employer may call him for a reference.

Be careful. Do not quit! If you quit, they can argue against your getting unemployment compensation. If they say, “You can resign, if you’d like,” tell them, “No. You said you are firing me. Is this an offer to let me stay?” Dan Rather’s three writing assistants, who refused to quit, were still getting paid months after they were asked to resign because they would not quit. Then they got a great severance package.

Don’t sign anything unless there is something in it for YOU. A good phrase to use is, “Let me take this to my lawyer and see if he wants me to sign it.” You’d be surprised how often they say, “Don’t bother.” Most things they want you to sign are to protect themselves or keep from giving you money.

If they say, “You have to sign this today without legal counsel,” get that phrase in writing from them, sign it, and take all the paperwork to your attorney. Be careful.

Get your personal belongings. All of them. Get your job journal first of all. If you even get a whiff of layoffs, get copies of your job journal, old job reviews, awards and attaboys to your house. They’ll help you in your job search.

If someone argues with you about personal stuff you are taking, keep putting it in the box as you talk with them. Your stuff is your stuff.

You don’t have a right to take client lists, trade secrets, client contracts or other company property. You can always ask for permission to take it, though. The guy walking you out of the office often feels so guilty he’ll say, “Just take it.” If he says you can take it, you have a presumptive right to it that you don’t have without his permission.

Now, go directly to the unemployment office and file for compensation. Do it today. Even if you are fired you can leave with grace. All they can do is get you out of the building. After that, it is all up to you. Good luck.

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I love this quote

If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm! (Lombardi)

The best people have the hardest time finding jobs when they are laid off. It is a fact. It is not for the reason you are thinking.

This is my experience.

I was the only person out of 300 that knew for sure that layoffs were coming. I had a mole in the headquarters in Dallas. I asked my boss, Mike, when the layoffs were going to start. He said, “There won’t be any layoffs.” Then, he checked with Dallas and was told there would not be any layoffs.

He was wrong, and I knew it. My source sat 50 feet from the division president who was laying plans.

So I told Mike, “If there are layoffs, I want to be in the first group you let go.”

Mike assured me that it wouldn’t be necessary. There would be no layoffs.

I started looking for a job and started a small recruiting company. A week before the layoffs were announced I gave my 2 weeks notice. My company, AGI, had its first contract. Mike acknowledged that my timing was perfect. The only thing that could have gone better was waiting a week so I got severance pay. The new job security was a lot better than any severance pay.

Everyone who was laid off in the first group got a job immediately. Everyone. And they were the problem children that managers wanted to get rid of.

There were more layoffs. The people laid off 6 months later didn’t find as many open jobs as the first group. Those laid off a few months after that were unemployed for a lot longer.

The funny thing is that the best employees were laid off last. But they couldn’t find jobs. Why?

By the time they were laid off, there was a serious business malaise. All the local companies had staffed their urgent projects. Now everyone was afraid to hire more people. So the best people had the hardest time finding jobs.

Isn’t it strange that the best workers, the most loyal staff, the absolutely essential people all had a hard time finding jobs? The reason is that they were let go at the absolute worst possible time. Every job was filled months before. They were hurt the most by their own loyalty.

Are you concerned about layoffs? Even if you are planning to stay, start setting yourself up for a job. Start setting yourself up for a promotion. Work harder than ever. Take over new tasks. Figure out how to make the company more money. Write a resume and hand it to your boss. Ask for a promotion or an award for doing so well. Don’t worry about a raise. Worry about getting recognized for exceptional performance where you are. Then figure out if you really should look for a new job.

The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty, not knowing what comes next. (LeGuin)

Success isn’t permanent, and failure isn’t fatal. (Ditka)

I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time. (London)

Here is what happened to me:

Our company made a record profit. The industry was booming. The company was sold for an unbelievable amount because its future was so bright.

95% of the employees were laid off by the end of the next month . We were in a boom no one thought was a bubble. The bubble burst. The company had to lay off almost everyone. I lasted until the end of the next month.

10 years later I was employed by a huge computer company. The world was good. This was a permanent job. I had been there 9 years. I was safe.

Then I got a letter from a friend at corporate headquarters. There were going to be layoffs in 3 months. I asked my bosses. They denied it. My contact said, “I read the memo.” I quit for a new job one week before the layoffs were announced.

What has happened to permanent employment?

Permanent employment does exist. It exists in your skills, networks and planning.

Union negotiations, trade laws and employment contracts are all useless against the tides of change. Your guarantee of permanent employment comes only through your own efforts and flexibility. Permanent is what YOU bring to the table.

Even people who have been in the same company for 20 years have switched careers 3, 5 or 10 times. During my 9 years at EDS I had 4 very different job paths in 9 years.

Look at where you are. Prepare for the changes that absolutely will come. Learn new skills. Pay for your own training if you have to. Get certifications. Pay for the tests yourself if your company won’t. Get trade magazines for your specialty and industry. Bring ideas to the table where you work.

The world is changing. You can either benefit from the changes or lose everything you have.